As the kind of person whose favorite Lady Gaga songs are “Speechless” and the Mutt Lange-produced, country-tinged power ballad “You and I,” it should be no surprise that “Million Reasons” is really doing it for me. The song, co-written by frequent collaborator Hillary Lindsey, is mournful and montage-ready, the story of a tumultuous love worth saving (so... not about Taylor Kinney?) that features a gut-punch of a chorus—one that’s begging to be heard live.
I bow down to pray
(I try to make the worst seem better)
Lord, show me the way
(To cut through all this worn out leather)
I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away,
But baby I just need one good one to say
Like “Speechless” and “You and I,” it’s Gaga putting her vocals and songwriting first, and the production—dare I call it “simple”—is a sigh of relief after the screeching cacophony of her lead single from Joanne, “Perfect Illusion.”
Joanne drops October 21. You can watch Gaga perform “Million Reasons” and two more tracks from the album here.